Watch out for online shopping scams as holiday shopping season kicks into high gear

DETROIT – Holiday shopping season is kicking into high gear and because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, more people will be shopping online.

Melanie Duquesnel is the president of the Better Business Bureau serving Eastern Michigan.

“If a deal appears to be too good to be true, it probably is,” Duquesnel said. “Buy items off secure websites and use a credit card, it provides more safety.”

Con artists are posing as Amazon employees, calling people, and claiming to need information about their account, according to the Better Business Bureau.

The scammers call and when you answer you get a recorded message claiming to be from Amazon stating there is a problem with your Amazon account. Scammers also send emails or texts, asking you to verify your personal information -- all so they can steal it.

• Click here to view the Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker
• Better Business Bureau warns consumers of ‘going out of business’ online shopping scam
• Scammers pretending to be from Amazon have been spoofing the Better Business Bureau’s phone number
• Scammers target personal information of online shoppers during Amazon Prime Day

Watch the video above for the full report